


Ground Rules

by RobinPlaysTrumpet15



Series: Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Obi-Wan Kenobi, Clone Wars, Comfort, Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan has a Plan, Post-Episode: s04e10 Carnage of Krell, do not copy to another site, things are gonna change in the 212th
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22026742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinPlaysTrumpet15/pseuds/RobinPlaysTrumpet15
Summary: Obi-Wan has a new set of ground rules for the 212th.It is advised that you read Screaming Session first.This is set right after S4xE10 - The Carnage of Krell. Canon Divergence
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584874
Comments: 43
Kudos: 1391





	Ground Rules

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I hope you like this. I actually got my beta reader to tear up at this story, which is extremely hard to do, so I'm feeling pretty good.

News of General Kenobi’s… _rant_ in front of his troops spreads through the 212th Attack Battalion and the 501st Legion like wildfire. Cody swears up and down that he only watched the recording he had of it with Rex exactly once. But even still, sometimes, he can hear the distinct sound of the general’s impassioned declaration playing just inside a room. Though when he enters, there’s nothing to be seen but a few troopers just lounging together or going about their daily tasks on the cruiser.

Cody fears the story will make its way to the rest of the army - other battalions and legions who hadn’t been there. Or worse, that the other generals and commanders will hear about it. And it isn’t that he’s worried that _they_ \- the clones - could get in trouble. Oh, no. He’s worried about what could happen to General Kenobi if the Jedi Council were to find out.

See, the thing is though, that the man seems perfectly normal about the whole thing. And not just normal. No, he seems… better. His posture, though still upright and commanding of the respect he’s obviously due, is more relaxed now. He seems less on edge now than he had in the past year and a half Cody has known him.

Cody isn’t the only one who’s noticed the change. Rex has as well, and there are others who have come up to Cody to say something about it, too.

Now, when something happens that usually wouldn’t get to the general, he uses whatever emotion it evokes to his advantage. And suddenly, where their success rate in missions had been one of the highest in the army, has started going _up_.

Suddenly, Cody could find the man sparring in the gym with General Skywalker and Commander Tano significantly more often. The man would meditate in a quiet corner of the ship, but he isn’t hidden away from everyone like he used to be. He invites troopers and shinies and commanding officers alike to join him for meals and target practice and just casual, friendly conversations.

Cody watches as morale just _skyrockets_ seemingly out of nowhere. And not only that, but somehow, their mortality rates are _plummeting_. The 212th Attack Battalion, and by proxy, the 501st Legion, have found themselves with the lowest turnover rates in the whole army.

They’d been on three assignments since Umbara and each one was done in record time with the lowest death toll anyone could have thought possible. Nearly everyone had returned, heads held high with proud smiles on their faces. The generals had informed them that they would have a few days off as a reward for doing so well. (It helped that every other situation was being handled at the time by other generals and their troops.)

It didn’t take long for everyone to be laying around the barracks, unsure what to do with themselves but glad for the time off.

Cody is just contemplating shoving his armor back on and going off to the gym to train a little when his communicator chirps at him. He answers it, almost surprised to find General Kenobi in the hologram that appears in his palm.

“Cody,” the Jedi says.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Meet me in the mess hall, would you? I’d like to go over some new strategies with you,” the hologram General says in the tinny quality all holocomms seem to give voices.

“Right away, Sir,” Cody replies with a nod.

The communicator shuts off and Cody shoves himself from his bunk. He pulls on the casual blacks every trooper is provided with for their off time and makes his way down to the mess hall.

There’s hardly anyone there, and somehow, General Kenobi almost sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s not that he didn’t used to eat with them here, because he did. It’s just happening a lot more frequently now. Even still, it feels a little strange to see the man sitting there at the corner table in the back of the room. He has a holopad sitting on the table in front of him. The tip of the stylus in his hand drags back and forth across the screen. Cody can’t tell if he’s writing or drawing aimlessly.

Cody tries to act like he wasn’t looking as he sits opposite the Jedi Master.

“Sir,” he says, gaining the man’s attention.

Kenobi lifts his face and greets the commander with a soft smile.

“Hello, Cody. Obi-Wan is fine,” he reminds him.

“Yes, S- Obi-Wan.” Oh, he’s going to have a problem getting used to that. The man’s been insisting on it for a while, but Cody has a feeling he’ll be more adamant now. “What were these new strategies you wanted to discuss?”

“Well… they’re not battle strategies,” Obi-Wan admits.

Cody’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “What are they for, then?”

“I have new strategies for how this battalion is going to function. Specifically,” he says, tapping to a new screen on the holopad and turning it so Cody can see, “how you and your men are treated.”

“Oh,” Cody says, relatively surprised. “Okay?”

Obi-Wan fixes him with a serious - though not unkind - expression.

“I was not kidding back on Umbara. I’m not letting any of my men be treated that way ever again. And this is where it starts.”

Something incredibly soft warms in Cody’s chest at the admission. He can’t help the smile that grows on his own face.

“So…” he starts slowly. Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow in question at him. “Does that mean you know about the recordings of you?”

The man legitimately laughs.

“Oh, I know about them. In fact, I have a copy of one. Anakin sent it to me after Ahsoka sent it to him and she got it from who knows where. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the Council sees it, and that will be an interesting conversation to be sure. But,” he pauses, sobering a little and looking back to the commander across from him, “before that time comes, there are going to be some new ground rules in this battalion.

“So,” he pushes the holopad closer to Cody, “what do you think?”

Cody looks down at the screen once again. There’s a relatively short and simple list pulled up on the screen.

  1. Each man will have a name to call themselves.  
a. Only requirements: it must be appropriate, and it should not be mean or belittling.
  2. At any point, if you need something, talk to someone.  
a. See your immediate CO for anything you need, and if you don’t feel comfortable with them, see the next person up.  
b. General Kenobi is always open for at least a couple minutes should you need or want to talk to him specifically.
  3. Each platoon will have a designated night to sit down and talk.  
a. This will stay as a large group session and then break down into individual squads.  
b. General Kenobi will be at each of these if you as a platoon/squad want him there.
  4. If another person (fellow man, commanding officer, general, etc.) treats you or talks to you in a way that would be deemed unacceptable by any decent person, go to General Kenobi immediately. He will rectify the situation.  
a. If, for whatever reason, it is General Kenobi who does this, speak to Cody and he will smack him as hard as he can and he will apologize immediately upon having common sense knocked back into him.



Cody stares at the words hard for a few seconds, rereading them another time to make sure they’re all still there.

“Sir…” he starts haltingly. “I’m not going to hit you.”

Obi-Wan brings one hand up to his chin so his fingers can stroke idly at his beard.

“Well, ideally, you won’t have to,” he says, completely seriously. “But if the situation were to ever arise where that would be necessary, it is your job as second in command to make sure that our men are treated correctly. Admittedly, it is doubtful you would ever need to do this, but for the sake of covering all our bases…”

Cody nods, quiet.

“So, other than the stipulation where I tell the entire battalion you have permission to hit me if necessary… what do you think?” Obi-Wan asks. He seems almost nervous now as he awaits Cody’s response.

“I… I think it’s great, S- Obi-Wan. I just… I have to admit, I’m not sure why we’re doing this.”

The Jedi master huffs a little to himself, though Cody is fairly certain the response wasn’t due to anything he himself had done. He chews his lip for a second in silence as he puts words together.

“Cody, I… Listen, being a Jedi is something I truly enjoy. I’m happy that this is my life and that I’ve had the opportunities that I’ve had. But I am _tired_ of… being distant for the sake of what we’re ‘supposed’ to do. For a year and a half, this battalion has become like family to me and… Force, how do I say this?” Obi-Wan goes quiet for another minute or two. Cody lets him have his time to sit and get his thoughts worked out.

“Some people are okay with… or just accept the fact that… all of you were made to fight and die in this war. And they use that to justify not looking at you as sentient beings. And I think that we’ve all become a little too numb to the death toll this war is taking.

“And I’m done with it. For every man I’ve watched die in the last two years, I feel I’ve died a little with them. I don’t want to be numb to it. I don’t want their lives to mean nothing. So, right here, right now, we’re stopping it. Every life here means something, and from now on, they will be treated as such. Every man here is a person in their own right who will have the right to be their own person.

“I’m not giving any of you up without a fight. Not ever again.”

Cody hates the tightness in his throat - the awful burning sensation that betrayed the oncoming tears stinging at his eyes. He doesn’t want to cry. Not now. Not in front of the general.

“Cody?” Obi-Wan prompts. He looks nervous

“Yeah,” Cody chokes out, trying to sound normal. He’s not sure he does a very good job. “Yeah, these are good rules.”

Obi-Wan smiles a genuine smile, though the expression is tinged a little sad.

“Okay,” he says. “Are you okay?”

“Of course,” Cody responds too quickly.

“You don’t have to be.”

The edges of Cody’s vision blur a little as the tears well in his eyes.

“You sure?” he asks, voice strained and tight.

Obi-Wan is already nodding, the action almost furiously fast as his own eyes mist over with tears.

“Yeah, I’m positive.”

Cody crumples into himself a little. “I’m not okay.”

The man is out of his seat and suddenly at Cody’s side like he’d wanted to be there the whole conversation. Cody finds himself wrapped up in a hug, much the same as he had been that night on Umbara once the general had returned. (His voice had been hoarse and sore but he looked worlds better.) Cody thinks he should probably feel a little ashamed of the tears that fall down his cheeks as he returns the hug. But Obi-Wan has this presence about him - one where you couldn’t help but feel accepted just as you are.

“That’s okay, too…” Obi-Wan promises him quietly.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought. I have more plans for this series in the future, so if you liked this, keep an eye out for more. Thanks!
> 
> Edit: Hi! I made a blog for this series! If you're interested, you can [find it here](https://obiwanthetherapistkenobi.tumblr.com/). Come say hi if you want!


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